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Show I VOLCANOES ARE TO RUN ITALY'S FACTORIES As an evidence that man has only i begun the work of harnessing for his benefit the mighty forces of the uni-verse, uni-verse, cays " , Haynei is the report that come from Italy that an engineer 'there has succeeded in drawlnc steam from a volcano to generate electricity. W hat this man has accomplished has attracted the world-wide attention of scientists. An article in Engineering (London) contains a description of This remarkable 1 r.iOOhorsepower jplans which in the last year was work-j work-j Jng to full capacity. In the Volterra region powerful jets of very hot steam issue from numer-I numer-I Kut cracks in the ground, spouting high (fin the air and bringing up boric acid I fand other minerals and gases, which fare reclaimed bjy the chemical manufacturing manu-facturing plants In this district. Hith-k Hith-k no the steam itself has gone to wast, pexcept when used occasionally for domestic do-mestic heating, but recently Prince Jinorl-Conti, who is at the head of the borax industries, has been endeavoring to use these strain Jets as a source of power. His first effort? were attended with only moderate success, but when he drilled down through a hard stratum of rock, 300 to 500 fept below the surface sur-face to the very source of the steam, he was able to get an ample and constant con-stant supply. His bore holes were from twelve to twenty Inches in diameter diam-eter and were lined with iron pipe The result of this work was an abundant abund-ant supply of steam varying in temperature tem-perature from 302 to 212 degrees Fahrenheit. Fahr-enheit. There is no lack of supply, If the bores are not located nearer than fifty feet from each other, and each bore can supply from 33,000 to G6.000 pounds of steam at a temperature of at least 302 degrees Fahrenheit. At first this steam was used in an ordinary steam engine of about forty horsepower, but the borax salts and other accompanying chemicals serious-1 Ly corroded the machinery and interfered inter-fered with constant and economic operation op-eration Then the superheated steam was applied, not directly to the engine, but to an ordinary multitubular boiler In which it was used In place of fuel to raise steam from ordinary water. With the price of coal ranging from $40 to 550 a ton in Italy, this achievement achieve-ment of Prince Oinorl-Contl has a far-reachlntr far-reachlntr effect upon the industrial life of Tuscany This harnessing of volcanic vol-canic heat to an electric power house to hundreds of thousands of horse power at comparatively small expense and without recourse to foreign coal supplies. It is contributing in no small degree to the economic welfare of Italy under the terrible stress of war conditions in that countrs . North of Ogden and at the mouth of Ogden canyon are hot springs, the water from which has a very high temperature. At the source of the hot water the heat must be intense and boring might open up a condition similar to that in the volcanic region of Italy. But in Ogden, with hydroelectric hydro-electric power available and coal comparatively com-paratively cheap, the economic conditions condi-tions would not warrant a development develop-ment of these subterranean furnaces. By the way, our hot springs are not taken advantage of as they should be Other cities, with natural resources re-sources of that nature, would have created great bathing or health resorts. |